14
1 When
he went into
the house of
one of the rulers
of the Pharisees
on a Sabbath
to eat bread, they
were watching him.
2 Behold,
a certain man
who had dropsy
was in front
of him.
3 Jesus,
answering, spoke to
the lawyers and
Pharisees, saying,
“Is it lawful
to heal on
the Sabbath?”
4 But
they were silent.
He took him,
and healed him,
and let him
go.
5 He
answered them,
“Which of you,
if your son
or an ox
fell into a
well, wouldn’t
immediately pull him
out on a
Sabbath day?”
6 They couldn’t
answer him regarding these
things.
7 He
spoke a parable
to those who
were invited, when
he noticed how
they chose the best
seats, and said to
them,
8 “When you are
invited by
anyone to a
wedding feast, don’t
sit in the best
seat, since perhaps
someone more honorable
than you might
be invited by
him,
9 and he who
invited both of
you would come
and tell you, ‘Make
room for this
person.’ Then
you would begin,
with shame, to
take the lowest
place.
10 But when you
are invited, go
and sit in
the lowest place,
so that when
he who invited
you comes, he
may tell you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’
Then you will
be honored in
the presence of
all who sit
at the table
with you.
11 For everyone
who exalts
himself will be
humbled, and
whoever humbles
himself will be
exalted.”
12 He
also said to
the one who
had invited him,
“When you make
a dinner or
a supper, don’t
call your
friends, nor
your brothers, nor
your kinsmen,
nor rich
neighbors, or
perhaps they
might also return
the favor, and pay
you back.
13 But when you
make a feast, ask
the poor,
the maimed, the
lame, or the
blind;
14 and you will
be blessed,
because they don’t
have the resources
to repay you.
For you will
be repaid in
the resurrection of
the righteous.”
15 When
one of those
who sat at
the table with
him heard these
things, he said
to him, “Blessed
is he who
will feast in God’s
Kingdom!”
16 But
he said to
him,
“A certain man
made a great
supper, and he
invited many
people.
17 He sent out
his servant at
supper time to
tell those who
were invited, ‘Come, for everything is
ready now.’
18 They all as
one began to
make excuses.
“The first said
to him, ‘I
have bought a field,
and I must
go and see
it. Please have
me excused.’
19 “Another said, ‘I
have bought five
yoke of oxen,
and I must
go try them
out. Please have
me excused.’
20 “Another said, ‘I
have married a
wife, and
therefore I can’t
come.’
21 “That servant
came, and told
his lord these
things. Then the
master of the
house, being
angry, said to
his servant, ‘Go
out quickly into
the streets and
lanes of the
city, and bring
in the poor,
maimed, blind, and
lame.’
22 “The servant
said, ‘Lord, it
is done as
you commanded,
and there is
still room.’
23 “The lord said
to the servant,
‘Go out into
the highways and
hedges, and compel
them to come
in, that my
house may be
filled.
24 For I tell
you that none
of those men
who were invited
will taste of
my supper.
For many are
called, but few
are chosen.’ ”
25 Now
great multitudes
were going with
him. He turned
and said to
them,
26 “If anyone
comes to me,
and doesn’t disregard
his own father,
mother, wife,
children, brothers, and sisters,
yes, and his
own life also,
he can’t
be my disciple.
27 Whoever doesn’t
bear his own
cross and come
after me, can’t
be my disciple.
28 For which of
you, desiring to
build a tower,
doesn’t first
sit down and
count the cost,
to see if he
has enough to complete
it?
29 Or perhaps,
when he has
laid a
foundation and isn’t
able to finish,
everyone who
sees begins to
mock him,
30 saying, ‘This
man began to
build and wasn’t
able to finish.’
31 Or what king,
as he goes
to encounter
another king in
war, will not
sit down first
and consider
whether he is
able with ten
thousand to meet
him who comes
against him with
twenty thousand?
32 Or else, while
the other is
yet a great way off,
he sends an envoy
and asks
for conditions of
peace.
33 So therefore,
whoever of you
who doesn’t renounce
all that he
has, he can’t
be my
disciple.
34 “Salt is good,
but if the salt
becomes flat and tasteless,
with what do
you season it?
35 It is fit
neither for the
soil nor for
the manure pile.
It is thrown out.
He who has
ears to hear,
let him hear.”